Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE:EMN) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Eastman Chemical has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from thirteen brokerages, with eight analysts suggesting a buy and five recommending a hold.
• Major brokerage firms have revised their price targets for Eastman Chemical, with estimates ranging from $68.00 to $112.00, reflecting varied outlooks on its stock performance.
• The company's latest earnings report showed a miss on consensus estimates, with earnings per share of $1.60 compared to the expected $1.72.

Shares of Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE:EMN - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the thirteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $87.00.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Eastman Chemical from $87.00 to $65.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup lowered their target price on Eastman Chemical from $90.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. UBS Group decreased their price target on Eastman Chemical from $107.00 to $101.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Eastman Chemical from $125.00 to $115.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Eastman Chemical from $92.00 to $80.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 1st.

Eastman Chemical Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EMN traded up $0.35 during trading on Thursday, hitting $61.62. 1,246,580 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,566,307. Eastman Chemical has a 1-year low of $56.78 and a 1-year high of $114.50. The company has a market capitalization of $7.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.51 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The business's 50 day moving average is $76.09 and its 200-day moving average is $83.71.

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.72 by ($0.12). Eastman Chemical had a return on equity of 15.24% and a net margin of 8.96%. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.15 EPS. Eastman Chemical's revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Eastman Chemical will post 8.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Eastman Chemical Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.4%. Eastman Chemical's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.63%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eastman Chemical

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EMN. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in shares of Eastman Chemical by 65.5% during the second quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 369 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Eastman Chemical during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. National Pension Service raised its holdings in Eastman Chemical by 75.3% during the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 433 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Eastman Chemical in the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eastman Chemical by 46.4% during the first quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 536 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.65% of the company's stock.

About Eastman Chemical

Eastman Chemical Company operates as a specialty materials company in the United States, China, and internationally. The company's Additives & Functional Products segment offers amine derivative-based building blocks, intermediates for surfactants, metam-based soil fumigants, and organic acid-based solutions; specialty coalescent and solvents, paint additives, and specialty polymers; and heat transfer and aviation fluids.